News

September 27, 2013

Weekly Update from Film Ontario, Sept 27, 2013

TORONTO ONTARIO film office - A partnership of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, City of Toronto and FilmOntario. WEEKLY UPDATE September 27, 2013 from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative - torontoontariofilm@gmail.com

Happy Friday everyone,

I am so pleased to once again be starting this report by celebrating another outstanding achievement by an Ontario company.

Many hearty congratulations to Spin VFX on their Outstanding Special Visual Effects Emmy win as part of the Game of Thrones VFX team - thank you for making us proud.

New York Mayor Bloomberg touts made-in-New York winners at the Emmys
The trades were full of stories about last weekend's Emmys and I found one from the Los Angeles Times particularly interesting. As reported below, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg used the broadcast as a catalyst to crow about New York's success attracting so-called runaway production, releasing a statement in which he honored winners which were made in New York.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-new-york-emmys-20130923,0,7191700.story

Former Film Academy President Tom Sherak Named L.A. Film Czar
The other big news out of Los Angeles this week was the long-awaited appointment of a Film Czar to lead the city's Entertainment Industry and Production Office. As detailed in the Hollywood Reporter below, Tom Sherak, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has been tapped to lead the campaign for increased California production incentives and is empowered to work across city departments to make L.A. the best possible location for production.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/film-academy-president-tom-sherak-637385

How Mayor Garcetti Convinced Tom Sherak to Become Film Czar (Q&A)
The Hollywood Reporter also published an in-depth interview with Sherak, who, if successful with his mandate, could have a significant impact on service business in Ontario. Sherak told the Reporter: "There's got to be a way to keep production here. There's just got to be. This is the home of Hollywood. This is where it all is. That's my job".
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-mayor-garcetti-convinced-tom-637411

Wang Jianlin's film studio plan in China has a Hollywood following
The Los Angeles Times had a fascinating feature this week on the ambitions of Wang Jianlin, the wealthiest man in China, who wants to create the world's largest movie studio in his home country. As reported below, Hollywood is taking his ambitions seriously, but proceeding cautiously as Wang hopes to lure studios to film at his massive movie making facility and predicts that China's box-office revenue will double by 2023, overtaking the U.S. in 2018.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-wanda-film-empire-20130924,0,5309473.story